The Jharkhand High Court directed the state government to inform it about the steps taken for the rehabilitation and treatment of a 13-year-old girl from Hazaribag who was allegedly forced to drink acid. A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ananda Sen also asked the state and the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) to ensure the treatment of the girl at the expense of the government. The bench was on Wednesday hearing a public interest litigation initiated suo moto by the court.
The court also summoned the investigating officer of the Ichak police station to appear in person and apprise the stage of investigation in the case. The matter will be heard again on May 10, the court said. The girl, a class 8 student, was allegedly forced to drink acid in December 2019 after she rejected the overtures of a man. She was admitted to a nearby hospital as she started bleeding profusely from her mouth following the incident. She was shifted to the state-run RIMS in Ranchi, but her parents later took her to AIIMS-Patna for better treatment.
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Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Kartik S appeared before the court through video conferencing, and informed it that the accused has been arrested. A polygraph test would also be conducted soon on the accused, he said. The accused has been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The charges are very serious and the police do not seem to be conducting the investigation in the correct spirit, the court held.
